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Excess Policy Attachment: Policy Language Prevails
One of the most important issues under excess insurance policies relates to when liability attaches to the excess policy. In recent years, attachment disputes have arisen with increased frequency, particularly under excess D&O insurance policies. In many large D&O cases which settle for an amount implicating multiple layers within the D&O insurance tower, the insurers raise various actual and potential coverage defenses and then seek to negotiate with the Insureds a discount off the limits of the implicated excess policies. In that situation, the primary insurer will pay some, but not all, of its limit of liability in exchange for a release from the Insureds, thereby creating a question as to whether liability then attaches to the excess policies despite the primary insurer failing to pay its entire limit.
In many large claims, all of the excess insurers potentially implicated by the large settlement will collectively agree to contribute a portion of their limit toward the settlement even though the underlying insurers have not paid their full limit. The rationale for that consensual arrangement is that it is in the mutual best interests of both the excess insurers and the Insureds to resolve those coverage issues pursuant to a compromise rather than engage in a lengthy and expensive coverage litigation or arbitration proceeding pursuant to which the insurers would pay either nothing or their full limit of liability.
Law Firms are Reducing Redundant Real Estate by Bringing Support Services Back to the Office
A trend analysis of the benefits and challenges of bringing back administrative, word processing and billing services to law offices.
Bit Parts
Summary Judgment Denied Defendant in Declaratory Action by Producer of To Kill a Mockingbird Broadway Play Seeking Amateur Theatrical Rights
Risks of “Baseball Arbitration” in Resolving Real Estate Disputes
“Baseball arbitration” refers to the process used in Major League Baseball in which if an eligible player's representative and the club ownership cannot reach a compensation agreement through negotiation, each party enters a final submission and during a formal hearing each side — player and management — presents its case and then the designated panel of arbitrators chooses one of the salary bids with no other result being allowed. This method has become increasingly popular even beyond the sport of baseball.
Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel
'Disconnect Between In-House and Outside Counsel is a continuation of the discussion of client expectations and the disconnect that often occurs. And although the outside attorneys should be pursuing how inside-counsel actually think, inside counsel should make an effort to impart this information without waiting to be asked.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.